It is currently known in the art to provide a substantially rigid compartment or shell as a luggage device to protect contents to be stored or carried. There exists a long felt need, however, to provide a luggage unit that offers the convenience of a lightweight and collapsible soft luggage bag while still providing optional protection for smaller items such as glasses, ski goggles, electronic devices, and the like. For example, when soft shell luggage is desired for travel and transportation where the luggage may be subjected to impact or compression, a relatively small portion of the luggage that provides protection from impact and/or compression forces is desirable. Additionally, protection from impact and compression from objects co-housed within the luggage is often desirable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,040 to Jones discloses a rigid insert provided in a soft luggage shell that is removably held in place by a twistable retainer ring and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. However, Jones fails to teach a device wherein the rigid insert occupies only a portion of the soft luggage shell that isolates certain items in a rigid surrounding and thereby protects the items from impact from other items in the luggage as well as impact and compression from outside forces. Accordingly, Jones fails to teach novel aspects of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,580 to Berman et al., which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses a collapsible article of luggage in which a plurality of reinforcing panels or inserts allow the luggage to assume either a rigid or collapsible form. Berman et al. fail to teach a rigid pocket or compartment that is capable of storing objects in relative isolation from other luggage contents. Accordingly, Berman fails to teach novel aspects of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,446,688 to Sutton, hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses a carry bag with a pouch insert and magnetic fasteners so that purse or bag contents may be easily transferred to another bag. Sutton does not teach an insert or compartment suitable for protecting contents from forces that may be applied by additional bag or luggage contents or from the outside environment. Accordingly, Sutton fails to teach novel aspects of the present invention.
Backpacks often include a plurality of storage areas for the receipt of books, laptop computers, cell phones, and other important or valuable items. Most backpacks are made of a soft, compliant material, which makes the items stored therein susceptible to damage if the backpack is dropped or mishandled. Stated differently, the fabric outer material employed by most backpacks does little to protect the items stored therein from shock or impact damage. Thus, to ensure fragile items are protected, a secondary case for those items must be employed. For example, glasses are also stored in a specialized case that is placed in the backpack. Individuals, however, often do not employ this secondary layer protection or forget/misplace item-specific protective cases.
Thus it is a long felt need to provide a backpack or other storage device that includes a compartment that protects the items stored therein from damage (especially against impact or shock damage). One embodiment of the present invention provides a rigid storage case that is accessible by way of a door located on the outer surface of the backpack.